Note from Lou Dina about drying time: Just a caution to those building custom profiles or reading test charts with a densitometer or spectophotometer. Canon inks DEFINITELY need to dry overnight before reading test charts and profiling. They seem to take a lot longer than Epson inks to cure. The very good news is that Dmax goes up with drying time. Old test charts that read about 1.60 density after 30-60 minutes increased to 1.66 or so after extended drying time. I reread some old test charts and found darker blacks across the board after prints dryed overnight or even for a few days.
There are reports of problems making good n-color profiles using some RIP software packages
for ink limiting and linearization, but you can make good custom profiles by profiling
the printer as an RGB device (using either the regular 8 bit OS level driver or
the 16 bit Photoshop Export Plug-in) with all good quality profiling tools.
Recommended targets from Bill Atkinson are available here. If you are using the Eye One spectrophotometer, download the "Eye One Pro Targets" file. Recommended target is the 1728 patch target divided into two separate files--"RGB 1728 Eye-One Target_1_2.tif" and "RGB 1728 Eye-One Target_2_2.tif". If printing these on roll paper, create a custom page size which is 16 inches wide and 10.4 inches high and name it "Eye One Target". You can do this by clicking on "Size Options" on the Page Setup tab. The targets will print in Landscape format using the minimum amount of roll paper. Note: If you are using the Profilemaker Measure Tool, be sure to set the Eye-One reading mode to "Spectral". Otherwise, the software won't be able to correct for optical brighteners in the paper that read in the UV region.
16 Bit Photoshop Export Plugin
Steps to make and use a profile:
Open your target in Photoshop (make sure you don't assign a profile to the target, must be untagged RGB)
Open the 16 bit Export plugin
Select media type (see Suggested Media Types for Non-Canon Papers below for how to make the right choice)
Set Output Profile to "None (No Color Correction)"
Print the target
Make the profile and install it
Print from the plugin using the same media type and settings (see below), and select your new profile as the Output Profile
Recommended Settings in the Export plugin:
Main Tab
High Accuracy 600 PPI
Highest Gradation 16 bit
2400X1200 dpi, 16 pass
"Set Configuration" to Bicubic
"Set" button (below Media Type) - choose Unidirectional (Optional--may improve print quality at expense of speed)
Page Tab
Borderless printing unchecked
Enlarged/Reduced printing unchecked
Media Size - select correct size; if printing on roll paper with 1728 Atkinson target as above, select your previously created "Eye One Target" custom media size as described above
Layout - Center
Roll paper options - set width of roll paper if using roll paper to print target
Color Settings Tab
All settings should be at 0 (click Defaults)
Tone Curve - Click on this button, then click Defaults to make sure no tone curve settings are accidentally applied Note:One poster discovered that he had forgotten to do this, thus invalidating his profiles!!!
8 Bit Operating System Level Driver
Steps to make and use a profile (directions for Windows, will vary some for Mac):
Click Start Menu -> Printers and Faxes
Right click "IPF5000 Printer" and select Properties
Click on Color Management Tab, click "Manual", then click "Apply", then "OK" (not clear if this step is required, done for safety)
Right click "IPF5000 Printer" and select Printing Preferences
Main Tab Settings
Media Type - see Suggested Media Types for Non-Canon Papers below for how to make the right choice
Select Advanced Settings from dropdown box
Print Priority - Image
Print Quality - Highest (600 dpi)
Check "Unidirectional Printing" (Optional--may improve print quality at expense of speed)
Color Mode - Color
Color Settings
Click "Defaults" on Color Adjustment Tab
On Matching tab, set "Matching Mode" to OFF, then click OK Note:If this step is not done, you may inadvertantly limit the gamut of your profile.
Page Setup Tab
Page size - set correct size; choose "Eye One Target" if you are printing to roll and have created a custom page size as described above; the custom page size can be created using "Size Options" on this tab.
Borderless printing Unchecked
Enlarged/Reduced Printing Unchecked
If Using Roll media, set Roll paper width to correct width
Layout Tab
Print Centered Checked
Click the Profiles tab and Choose "Add". Create a name for your profile, e.g., "Eye-One Target" and save it. This way you can go back and print the target again to create another profile (but you will need to change the media type if it is for a different paper)
Click "Apply", the "OK" to save your Printing Preferences
Print the target as follows:
Open your target in Photoshop (make sure you don't assign a profile to the target, must be untagged RGB)
Choose File -> Print With Preview
Select Color Management from the dropdown box below the preview image
Under Color Handling select "No Color Management" (Note: Photoshop CS5 no longer has this option. For workaround see this FAQ.)
Scale should be 100%
Click Printer and select the IPF5000
Click Page Setup and set the Orientation, Page Source and Page Size
Click Print
Make the profile and install it
Print from Photoshop as follows:
Select "Let Photoshop Determine Colors"
Select the Printer Profile you just created
Select the desired rendering intent (be sure to use Black Point Compensation for Relative Rendering Intent)
Printer driver settings need to be the same as when the profile was created for Media Type, Print Quality, Color settings (steps 5.1, 5.4 and 5.6)
Comments from users on Media Types they have used successfully with various papers:
I have used the Canon semi-gloss Heavyweight profile for Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl with good results. My dealer then did a custom profile for me for this paper, and the change was minimal. The Glossy Heavyweight pro. works also.
The media settings definitely have an important impact on the amount of ink applied to the paper. As a test, I've printed out a 1728 patch target on Epson Premium Luster using a few different media settings. Its pretty different, even when using the Heavyweight Semi-Gloss Photo Paper and Semi-Gloss Photo Paper. I haven't yet tried the Photo Paper Plus settings, but nailing the optimal media setting is crucial to building an effective output profile. For instance, the Heavyweight setting gave me significantly less color than the Semi-gloss Photo setting.
For Epson Enhanced Matte cut sheets I select "matte photo paper", which has given excellent results with custom profile. However, with roll version of Epson Enhanced Matte you must use the Premium Matte setting. When using the Matte Photo setting, the 16bit plug in doesn't see the roll and all roll options are grayed out.
I finally figured out that for cut sheet, Photo Paper Plus worked best for glossy papers and Photo Paper Semi-Gloss worked best for Satin/luster papers and tha the corresponding profiles were decent in the absence of paper manufacturers' or custom profiles. Since the driver won't allow Photo Paper Plus selections for rolls, you have to select Heavyweight Glossy or Heavyweight Semi-gloss to use roll paper.
"I use a lot of Kodak Professional Lustre (in rolls) and have found that the Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl profile is pretty good with this paper on the 5000. Might have to tweak the saturation/contrast sliders a little, but color is remarkably good. For rolls, I'm using the HW semi-gloss media setting." --Tony Bonanno
Current Recommendations for Media Type Setting for Non-Canon Papers for iPF5000
Note: The recommendations listed below are very rough, and often reflect individual users experiences. Another good way to choose the best Media Type is to see what Media Type has been used by Booksmart Studio for their generic profiles, or to see what the third party paper manufactuer has used as a Media Type for their generic profiles.
+ One poster reported that Canon recommended Special 5 for Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl . It may be that the total ink limit for Special 5 and Heavyweight Semi-Gloss Photo paper are the same.
++ Explanation of this setting by Kirk Thompson: "Using Firmware 1.23 & plug-in 2.03, the two media settings "Premium Matte" & "Fine Art HW" lay down same ink densities & yield the same DMax (1.66) on HPR 308. Presumably there's a difference in platten gap for the two media settings; but to my eyes & loupe, this has no detectable difference in image quality. The advantage of the Premium Matte setting is that it allows printing from the cassette, & thus avoids the requirement for a wider border when paper is loaded through the tray. If you don't want to print on HPR from the cassette & don't mind leaving a full 1" border, the FA-HW is an equally good setting. Some people have had trouble loading HPR 308 from the cassette, but I have not."
+++ Scott Martin of Onsight sent in this information: "Somerset Velvet responds better with the "Premium Matte" media selection instead of the "Fine Art Textured" recommendation from Legion. Fine Art Textured appears to put down too much ink - some of the dots bleed and touch each other resulting in mottled, inconsistent smooth areas. Premium Matte produces the same DMax but has smoother areas of solid color. It's a subtle difference that would be lost to many but significant for some."
++++ Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss produced a significantly larger gamut than Special 5
For Epson Premium Luster, John Hollenberg found Special 5 to produce a significantly larger gamut than the Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss that was used by Booksmart Studio to produce their profile. This was based on a recommendation from a tech at Lexjet who does all their profiling.
Note: Lexjet Sunset Air Dried Fibre Gloss is rumored to be the same paper as Innova F-type Gloss
Current Recommendations for Media Type Setting for Non-Canon Papers for iPF5100/6100
Note:** When there is a link for the source, it points to the relevant forum thread, which may contain more information.
Note on settings posted by Lou Dina. All media settings for iPF6100 used PS Plugin at highest quality (32 Pass when available, otherwise 16 Pass), 16 bit, Unidirectional and bicubic interpolation. Media settings were determined by printing a chart with 21 gray steps and 21 color patches, and inspecting with a spectrophotometer and visually for best overall Dmax and color gamut. Settings which showed visual defects such as pooling, mottling, bleeding, etc., were rejected. Profiles built with above settings seem to give consistent results when used with the driver or the plugin, as long as the same quality settings are used. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT PROFILING TARGETS DRY COMPLETELY BEFORE PROFILING, (24 HOURS MINIMUM FOR MATTE FINE ART PAPERS, AND 8 HOURS MINIMUM FOR PHOTO PAPERS. FOR MORE INFO, READ THE FOLLOWING LINK: http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/Printer+Targets+Dry).
+ Epson Velvet Fine Art also does great with the PremMatteP media setting. Special 10 edges it out, but not by much. This paper looks great with the Canon inks and has good Dmax and color gamut, especially for a matte fine art paper. Unfortunately, it is limited to 13 X 19 inch sheets maximum. Surface also scuffs easily.
++ Canon HW FA 330gsm paper has a very weak Dmax, but prints look better than expected based on measurements alone. Not a good choice for images that require a deep, rich black. Inexpensive paper and good for proofs. Good reds. Paper is coated on both sides. Special 10 has a wider gamut and more saturated colors than the HWFA330 media setting.
Breathing Color and Fredrix Matte Canvas can use either the Canvas Matte2 or Special 8 setting, which are very close.
Creating Custom Profiles for Non-Canon Papers
Note from Lou Dina about drying time: Just a caution to those building custom profiles or reading test charts with a densitometer or spectophotometer. Canon inks DEFINITELY need to dry overnight before reading test charts and profiling. They seem to take a lot longer than Epson inks to cure. The very good news is that Dmax goes up with drying time. Old test charts that read about 1.60 density after 30-60 minutes increased to 1.66 or so after extended drying time. I reread some old test charts and found darker blacks across the board after prints dryed overnight or even for a few days.
There are reports of problems making good n-color profiles using some RIP software packages
for ink limiting and linearization, but you can make good custom profiles by profiling
the printer as an RGB device (using either the regular 8 bit OS level driver or
the 16 bit Photoshop Export Plug-in) with all good quality profiling tools.
Recommended targets from Bill Atkinson are available here. If you are using the Eye One spectrophotometer, download the "Eye One Pro Targets" file. Recommended target is the 1728 patch target divided into two separate files--"RGB 1728 Eye-One Target_1_2.tif" and "RGB 1728 Eye-One Target_2_2.tif". If printing these on roll paper, create a custom page size which is 16 inches wide and 10.4 inches high and name it "Eye One Target". You can do this by clicking on "Size Options" on the Page Setup tab. The targets will print in Landscape format using the minimum amount of roll paper. Note: If you are using the Profilemaker Measure Tool, be sure to set the Eye-One reading mode to "Spectral". Otherwise, the software won't be able to correct for optical brighteners in the paper that read in the UV region.
16 Bit Photoshop Export Plugin
Steps to make and use a profile:
Recommended Settings in the Export plugin:
8 Bit Operating System Level Driver
Steps to make and use a profile (directions for Windows, will vary some for Mac):
Suggested Media Settings for Non-Canon Papers
See FAQ on Determining the Optimal Media Type.
Comments from users on Media Types they have used successfully with various papers:
Current Recommendations for Media Type Setting for Non-Canon Papers for iPF5000
Note: The recommendations listed below are very rough, and often reflect individual users experiences. Another good way to choose the best Media Type is to see what Media Type has been used by Booksmart Studio for their generic profiles, or to see what the third party paper manufactuer has used as a Media Type for their generic profiles.
Paper
Cassette
Manual
Roll
Source
+ One poster reported that Canon recommended Special 5 for Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl . It may be that the total ink limit for Special 5 and Heavyweight Semi-Gloss Photo paper are the same.
++ Explanation of this setting by Kirk Thompson: "Using Firmware 1.23 & plug-in 2.03, the two media settings "Premium Matte" & "Fine Art HW" lay down same ink densities & yield the same DMax (1.66) on HPR 308. Presumably there's a difference in platten gap for the two media settings; but to my eyes & loupe, this has no detectable difference in image quality. The advantage of the Premium Matte setting is that it allows printing from the cassette, & thus avoids the requirement for a wider border when paper is loaded through the tray. If you don't want to print on HPR from the cassette & don't mind leaving a full 1" border, the FA-HW is an equally good setting. Some people have had trouble loading HPR 308 from the cassette, but I have not."
+++ Scott Martin of Onsight sent in this information: "Somerset Velvet responds better with the "Premium Matte" media selection instead of the "Fine Art Textured" recommendation from Legion. Fine Art Textured appears to put down too much ink - some of the dots bleed and touch each other resulting in mottled, inconsistent smooth areas. Premium Matte produces the same DMax but has smoother areas of solid color. It's a subtle difference that would be lost to many but significant for some."
++++ Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss produced a significantly larger gamut than Special 5
For Epson Premium Luster, John Hollenberg found Special 5 to produce a significantly larger gamut than the Photo Paper Plus Semi-Gloss that was used by Booksmart Studio to produce their profile. This was based on a recommendation from a tech at Lexjet who does all their profiling.
Note: Lexjet Sunset Air Dried Fibre Gloss is rumored to be the same paper as Innova F-type Gloss
Current Recommendations for Media Type Setting for Non-Canon Papers for iPF5100/6100
Note:** When there is a link for the source, it points to the relevant forum thread, which may contain more information.
Paper
Cassette
Manual (top feed)
Roll
Source
Note on settings posted by Lou Dina. All media settings for iPF6100 used PS Plugin at highest quality (32 Pass when available, otherwise 16 Pass), 16 bit, Unidirectional and bicubic interpolation. Media settings were determined by printing a chart with 21 gray steps and 21 color patches, and inspecting with a spectrophotometer and visually for best overall Dmax and color gamut. Settings which showed visual defects such as pooling, mottling, bleeding, etc., were rejected. Profiles built with above settings seem to give consistent results when used with the driver or the plugin, as long as the same quality settings are used. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT PROFILING TARGETS DRY COMPLETELY BEFORE PROFILING, (24 HOURS MINIMUM FOR MATTE FINE ART PAPERS, AND 8 HOURS MINIMUM FOR PHOTO PAPERS. FOR MORE INFO, READ THE FOLLOWING LINK:
http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/Printer+Targets+Dry).
+ Epson Velvet Fine Art also does great with the PremMatteP media setting. Special 10 edges it out, but not by much. This paper looks great with the Canon inks and has good Dmax and color gamut, especially for a matte fine art paper. Unfortunately, it is limited to 13 X 19 inch sheets maximum. Surface also scuffs easily.
++ Canon HW FA 330gsm paper has a very weak Dmax, but prints look better than expected based on measurements alone. Not a good choice for images that require a deep, rich black. Inexpensive paper and good for proofs. Good reds. Paper is coated on both sides. Special 10 has a wider gamut and more saturated colors than the HWFA330 media setting.